Remember how Judy and Mickey would put on a show to save the farm against all odds? Well, those old MGM musicals have nothing on Dennis Nahat and his Ballet San Jose of Silicon Valley: The story of the Bay Area's newest ballet company is almost too much.

The company is rising from the ashes of San Jose Cleveland Ballet. That unique venture, in which two cities thousands of miles apart shared one ballet company, is over. But the Bay Area is not Cleveland, the arts here are recognized as integral parts of the fabric of civilized life, and everyone from San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales to thousands of ballet lovers have rallied to the cause.

Thursday marks the debut of Ballet San Jose of Silicon Valley at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. The repertory for this historic occasion will be a triple bill of Balanchine, Bournonville and Nahat.

OPTIMISM AND RESOURCEFULNESS

It is the latest and most important chapter in a tale of artistic integrity and civic pride, of all-American optimism and resourcefulness, of triumph. What could have been a major tragedy for dance in the Bay Area -- and what in fact was a senseless loss for Cleveland -- has been turned into a major victory for American culture.

"Everything happened so fast," Nahat said. "We've barely had time to take it all in.

"But I just left the dancers in the studio, and you should see them," he said with a catch in his throat. "Dancers are so resilient. . . . There they were, rehearsing harder than ever, dancing beautifully, working and working as if nothing happened."

A lot happened, actually. And what is happening in San Jose is an inspiration for the performing arts in this country.

On Sept. 7, the financially troubled San Jose Cleveland Ballet suspended all operations in Cleveland, canceled what would have been its 25th anniversary season, fired all the dancers and administrative staff and closed down its school.

The next day, the company's San Jose board of directors met to explore options to save the season and the company in San Jose, even if the Cleveland company was no more.

A week later, most of the dancers from the original company had agreed to join the new venture, with Nahat as artistic director.

Negotiations are in progress to secure San Jose Cleveland Ballet productions, including last season's spectacular "Carmen" by Roland Petit and Ian Horvath and Nahat's popular "Nutcracker." San Jose's city housing office agreed to help the dancers find a place to live (in the old arrangement, they lived and rehearsed in Cleveland, coming to San Jose only to perform). Many details are still to be worked out, but the mood around the company is bright.

A SURVIVOR

"Dennis is a survivor, like me," said Michael Smuin, founder and director of Smuin Ballets/SF. "Cleveland should be ashamed, but I knew that Dennis wouldn't let that catastrophe keep him down."

Catastrophes like Cleveland's, sadly, are not unique. There are lessons to be learned from them, and there is reason for hope.

The death of another major ballet company a generation ago may suggest what the future holds for the South Bay. Ben Stevenson, an immensely gifted teacher and choreographer with a passion for dramatic ballet, could not save the National Ballet, which he co-directed in the nation's capital with Frederick Franklin, from going bankrupt in 1974.

"That was devastating," Stevenson said. The loss had a long-lasting effect: To this day, there is no major ballet company in Washington, D.C.

History repeated itself in Cleveland. A city that ought to know better is throwing away a major part of its culture. "The truth is that Cleveland's heart wasn't in supporting a ballet company," Nahat said. "There is money there. There are five or six big theaters for dance. But in the end there was not enough commitment."

So where is the good news? When Stevenson left Washington, along with many of his dancers, and moved to Texas, he became director of the Houston Ballet. Twenty-five years later, his Houston Ballet has become a major force in American dance.

What's more, the Houston Ballet became the epitome of what would be seen as a dazzling cultural explosion. Today, the Houston Opera and the Houston Symphony are also major international players in the arts. The success of Ben Stevenson's Houston Ballet has been good for Houston and for arts in America.

"I can tell you it is very good to be in a city that appreciates you," Stevenson said of his life in Houston.

PROMISING SITUATION

Will Nahat and his dancers be just as happy in San Jose? In many ways, their situation is at least as promising as Stevenson's in Houston a quarter century ago. There is already a healthy subscription base, the city of San Jose admirably has set the tone of enthusiastic support for the arts with a $250,000 challenge grant, and several local citizens are opening their homes to the dancers to ease the move to the Bay Area from Cleveland.

More important, there is a rich dance tradition that is by rights as much San Jose's as it was Cleveland's. There are several other factors: a body of work, including Nahat's own, that has a proven track record with the growing San Jose audience; a troupe with strong personalities that has captured the imagination of dance lovers; a sense that American ballet cannot die here.

Cleveland's loss may be not only San Jose's gain but also the Bay Area's and the country's. This week's debut of the new Ballet San Jose of Silicon Valley is cause for celebration. There is real promise here.

BALLET SAN JOSE OF SILICON VALLEY

Dennis Nahat's new company debuts with his "Moments," George Balanchine's "Theme and Variations" and Auguste Bournonville's "Napoli" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. next Sunday at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd., San Jose. Tickets: $20-$65. Call (408) 288-2800.